Mechanism (biology)

Creativity

Philosophy

Moderation

Social psychology

Public relations

Economics

Openness to experience

Psychology

Ethical leadership

Management

Political science

Epistemology

Supervisor

Optimal distinctiveness theory

Leadership style

Authentic leadership

Journal of Management & Organization

This study examines the relationship between ethical leadership and employee creativity with mediating role of trust in leader and moderating role of openness to experience. Data were collected from 205 supervisor–subordinate small textile firms across Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the distinctiveness of variables used in our study. The results confirmed that ethical leadership promotes creativity at workplace, while trust in leader mediates the effect of ethical leadership on creativity. Furthermore, the results did not confirm the moderation of openness to experience on the relationship between trust in leader and employee creativity. The implications are discussed.

Ethical leadership, trust in leader and creativity: The mediated mechanism and an interacting effect